Draft at Carlyle. Pours black with about a half finger of dark brown head. Aroma of coffee, dark chocolate and a little burnt malt. Taste is about the same. Lightly bitter and lots of coffee and dark chocolate. This beer is great and I’m happy this one is almost always on tap when I head in there.

Draft at the brewpub. Opaque black-brown. Roasty, classic Stout. Sweet, almost approaching Sweet Stout on second thought. Medium to full bodied, with some sticky caramel tones. Middle of the road. Generous road trip rate.

Sampler @ the brewpub, the best of the regular offerings. Fully black color. Aroma is awesome with lots of chocolate, dry cocoa, and other aspects that make it come off as a sweet, creamy pastry. Some charred elements in there as well as roast. All the aspects I like in a stout, melding well together. Taste is less complex with more roast and a watery flavor of a dry pastry. Easy drinking to boot, I would stop by just to have this one again.

On tap at the brewery. Deep opaque brown body, thin buff head. Rich roasted malt aroma with dark chocolate notes and coffee. Dry, slightly acrid roasted malt body, with the above noted coffee and dark chocolate characteristics. Light, creamy palate. A nice dry stout, with a soft palate and light sweetness that balances out the roasted malts.

Sampler. Finally, a stout on tonight’s beer tasting journey. Roasty coffee and chocolate sits right up front in the nose, daring you to push them aside and find any other flavors. They’re also full force in the taste. There is some roast grain astringency, but luckily not too much. Good dry stout finish.